wrestling / Video Reviews
The Name on the Marquee: WWF at LA Sports Arena (10.16.1988)
Loading...-Another “Old School” offering on the Network.
-Originally aired October 16, 1988.
-Your hosts are Rod Trongard’s toupee and Superstar Billy Graham.
PAUL ROMA vs. STEVE LOMBARDI
-The long-awaited blow-off to the feud that they built out of nowhere in January 1987 on “Superstars” and then promptly forgot about. Lombardi slams Roma right away. Roma bounces right up and leapfrogs around before hiptossing Lombardi and slamming him. Roma works the arm, but Lombardi breaks free with an elbow to the face and goes after the eyes. Roma mounts his comeback with fists, but Lombardi cuts him off and goes to a chinlock. Backbreaker by Lombardi gets two. Roma gets dumped on the floor, and Lombardi brings him back in for another chinlock. Roma comes back with punches again, and the missile dropkick finishes. That took fifteen minutes. 0 for 1.
BLUE BLAZER vs. JOSE ESTRADA
-Estrada lights into Blazer with chops, but Blazer turns an attempted corner charge into a ‘rana and applies a wristlock. Blazer throws in a Frankensteiner for good measure. Estrada comes to life and goes aerial with axehandles for two. Nerve hold by Estrada, and then he sends Blazer out to the floor and we get some weird editing on the commentary while the match itself is intact. Blazer slingshots back in but Estrada kicks out of the sunset flip and he goes back to the top rope axehandles. Nerve hold, but Blazer comes back with a dropkick that sends Estrada to the floor, and he launches himself out to meet him there. Back in, Blazer is just all over Estrada with an all-out assault, and the top rope splash puts him away. It was fine when Owen was in control, but mostly, he wasn’t in control. 0 for 2.
INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE: ULTIMATE WARRIOR (Champion) vs. HONKY TONK MAN (with Jimmy Hart)
-Honky learned nothing from Summerslam and Warrior just assaults him before the bell again. Honky goes out to the floor and gets noggin-knocked with Jimmy. Back in, Warrior is close to putting him away, but Jimmy Hart hooks the leg from the outside. Warrior goes after him but catches Honky sneaking up and press slams him back into the ring. Back in, Warrior misses a corner charge and Honky takes a shot with the megaphone while the referee is distracted. Honky tries to finish it right there with shake, rattle, and roll, but Warrior backdrops out. Warrior is getting ready to finish it but Jimmy Hart runs in for the weak-ass DQ. 0 for 3. They throw powder in Warrior’s face afterward. Honky didn’t look like anything close to a threat, and Warrior treated him like nothing.
“Mister Perfect” CURT HENNIG vs. JUMPING JIM BRUNZELL
-Little side note: I find it curious the way that the MSG and Boston house shows were notoriously dim and low-rent looking, but for some reason, the Los Angeles house shows look like a TV taping, with slicker camera work and a lit arena.
-They do some mat work and Brunzell applies a wristlock. Perfect counters with a toehold as Graham notes that Hennig is a “slow starter” in his matches, and Rod Trongard says the fans don’t know what to make of this match. So, sluggish and not over, for anyone who needs to understand why it took a while for the WWF to do something with Mister Perfect. Hennig applies a side headlock and demands to know where the real competition is in the WWF. He stomps at Brunzell until he goes to the floor for a retreat.
-Back in, Brunzell gets fired up but the crowd isn’t feeling it. Hennig counters a backdrop with a kick and goes back to stomping. Brunzell fights back with an uppercut that sends Hennig over the top rope, then brings him back in and applies a sleeper. Hennig goes to the corner, so Brunzell just rams him into the turnbuckle, and a dropkick gets two as Hennig gets a foot on the rope. Hennig springs up, whips Brunzell into the ropes, and powerslams him for three out of nowhere. 0 for 4. Two AWA veterans with solid mat wrestling skills and somehow there was just no chemistry in there.
HULK HOGAN vs. KING HAKU (with Bobby Heenan)
-There’s no issue behind this match at all, it’s just Hogan vs. Heel of the Month, and the match is ultimately better known for what the hell Hulk wears during his entrance. Yes, it’s the debut/one of the last appearances ever of the Fist Helmet. So, the WWF had this idea that the hot toy for Christmas 1988 should be some new Hulk Hogan-branded thing, and somehow they settled on Hulk coming to the ring for a while wearing a red & yellow gladiator helmet with a fiberglass fist sticking out of the top of it. Hulk stopped wearing it once the WWF determined they wouldn’t be able to get the replica helmets on toy store shelves in time for the holidays, and millions of sad children had to experience 1989 without a gladiator helmet with a fist sticking out of the top of it. There’s just no way this thing would ever sell, it looks like something a dad would look at and say “My kid’s not wearing this.”
-Hulk gets distracted by Heenan and Haku unloads on him with shots to the throat. Hulk hulks up early and throws punches at Haku, plus one for Heenan for funsies. Rare US appearance of the axe bomber by the Hulkster. Hulk tries to call it a night with the legdrop, but Heenan trips him and Hulk chases him around the ring. Haku catches Hulk coming back into the ring with chops and a dropkick off the ropes, but it only gets two. It’s a false hope hulk-up as he ends up missing an elbow drop and Haku applies a nerve hold. Hulk actually takes this hold better than most, as he moves around and rocks his head, fighting the hold instead of napping, although Hulk’s name can be added to the list of guys who can’t figure out what to do with their hands during this move.
-Haku superkicks Hulk out to the floor. Hulk BARELY makes it back in and Haku lights into him with more chops and a suplex, but Hulk hulks up one more time, and this is the one that sticks, with the stupid helmet figuring into the finish as Heenan tries to use it as a weapon and accidentally knocks out Haku, and Hulk puts on the helmet himself and ends it with the legdrop. 1 for 5. You can complain that it’s the standard Hogan formula, but the thing is, Hogan used that formula so much because it WORKED.
-Rod Trongard meets the Rougeau Brothers, who call the Harts the biggest crybabies in the business. Jacques keeps calling Trongard “Hot Rod.”
-Hart Foundation doesn’t take too kindly to the Rougeaus’ remarks.
KOKO B. WARE vs. BIG BOSS MAN (with Slick)
-Koko tries stick & move strategy and it goes well for him to start, but Boss Man starts attacking the back, then stun guns Koko. Koko gets choked out and chopped, then gets distracted by the Slickster and caught in a bear hug as a result. Koko gets free and throws a series of punches. They go to the corner and as the referee is trying to separate them, Boss Man grabs the nightstick and pool cues Koko right in the throat, and the Boss Man slam finishes. 2 for 6. Actually more of a squash than their Summerslam match, but these guys meshed really well.
HART FOUNDATION vs. FABULOUS ROUGEAU BROTHERS (with Jimmy Hart)
-Ring announcer introduces the Rougeaus as “Soon to be relocating to the United States and probably Los Angeles.” Harts clear the ring right away. Rougeaus stall and once the match finally starts, Raymond just takes a shit-kicking in the Harts’ corner. Raymond tries to tag out but accidentally crawls back to the Harts’ corner and gets beaten on again. Bret tags in gets his hands on Raymond, but instead of attacking, he just allows Raymond to tag and dares Jacques to come in. That’s a great character bit from Bret, as the Harts just want to murder these guys.
-Jacques tags in and now he gets caught in the corner and beaten senseless. Backbreaker by Bret and he heads up to the second rope, but Jimmy Hart takes out his knee with the megaphone, and now it’s a total turnabout, as Bret gets caught in the wrong corner and the Rougeaus murder him. Boston crab by Jacques. They sucker Anvil into coming in and getting a stern lecture from he referee. Rougeaus switch without tagging and Raymond applies a rear chinlock. Jacques heads back in and does the abdominal stretch. We get the false tag spot and the Rougeaus double-team the Hit Man for a series of two-counts.
-Raymond goes for a backdrop, but Bret gives him a hard forearm and takes him out. Hot tag is finally made and Anvil unloads on both Rougeaus. Bret Irish whips the Anvil into Jacques, and they do the decapitator for a two-count. All four men are in the ring. Hart Attack looks to finish, but Jacques shoves the referee into Bret’s path and he gets mowed down, rendering the referee “comatose” according to Trongard. Another referee is so outraged by the shenanigans that he runs in just to call for the bell and DQ the Rougeaus himself. 3 for 7. This show is rallying pretty well. Hopefully there’s a strong match to close the show.
JAKE “The Snake” ROBERTS (with Cheryl) vs. RAVISHING RICK RUDE
-Dammit. All right, folks, the over-under for total resthold time is 11 minutes, place your bets. These should be the most intense, rage-filled, knock-down drag-out fights, but instead, it’s like watching a rift in the space-time continuum that allows Randy Orton to wrestle himself.
-Rude tries to flirt with Cheryl but Jake puts a stop to that and applies a wristlock. He drives knees into the elbow and switches to a hammerlock. Rude goes to the eyes and throws punches. Jake fights back with his own punches but misses the short clothesline, and Rude connects with a clothesline of his own. He ties Jake in the ropes and goes after Cheryl, but Jake unties himself and runs outside to attack Rude. Back in the ring, inverted atomic drop by Rude, a lethal move that Graham puts over by tittering because Jake’s balls are hurt.
-Rude applies a chinlock, then whips Jake back and forth, with Jake hitting the corner really hard each time for the most interesting part of the match. Back to the chinlock, but Jake breaks it with a stunner, and NOW, things begin to…nah, Rude just reapplies the chinlock. Jake starts to power out, so Rude yanks his hair and reapplies the chinlock. Jake lunges toward the ropes to break the hold, propelling Rude out to the floor. Jake sends him into the post and Rude just goes SMACK into it. Back in the ring, Jake goes for the DDT but he’s too close to the ropes and Rude tries to escape. Jake gets a handful of tights to give us a thrilling butt cameo, then finally hits the short clothesline.
-DDT is countered by Rude ramming Jake into the corner. Jake tries charging at him, but Rude sweeps his leg and Jake crashes. Piledriver by Rude gets two. He crawls over to Cheryl and asks for a kiss. Cheryl gives him a hard slap, and Jake sneaks over and rolls him up for three. 3 for 8. It picked up toward the end but damn it was a journey before we got to that point.
